BGSU hockey (14-6-5, 11-4-3) drove to South Bend, Indiana, on Friday night for the first leg of a home-and-home series against Notre Dame (5-18-2, 1-13-0) in the first series between the Falcons and the Fighting Irish since 2019.
While the game will be recorded as a draw after the two teams finished regulation and overtime tied at three goals apiece, freshman forward Noah Morneau and junior goaltender Cole Moore gave the Falcons the victory in the shootout after Morneau scored on the Falcons’ first shot. Moore stopped all three of NDU’s shooters.
Notre Dame would score the first goal of the game early in the first period when Henry Nelson’s shot from the point beat Moore four and a half minutes into the first frame of play. Sophomore defenseman Jimmy Jurcev and graduate forward Sutter Muzzatti were credited with the assists on the play.
Bowling Green would tie the game at one apiece in the second frame when a cross-crease pass from senior forward Brett Pfoh was punched in by fellow senior forward Quinn Emerson while on a fast break. Along with Pfoh, an additional assist was awarded to sophomore defenseman Ivan Korodiuk on the play.
NDU would retake the lead later in the second period when a net front scramble in front of Cole Moore resulted in junior forward Cole Knuble finding twine during a power-play opportunity. Assists were awarded to Muzzatti and junior forward Evan Werner to give Notre Dame a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Bowling Green would score a power-play goal of their own just over one minute into the final frame of regulation when freshman defenseman Ty Higgins ripped a shot from the faceoff dot that beat NDU’s sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf to give Higgins his first career collegiate goal and tie the game at two apiece. Fellow freshman defenseman Brayden Crampton and Emerson were awarded with the assists on the goal.
Less than a minute later, the Fighting Irish would once again take the lead when a pass from Muzzatti that was intended for Werner deflected off Higgins’ skate and past Moore to give Notre Dame a 3-2 lead. The goal was credited to Muzzatti, with assists being credited to Werner and senior defenseman Axel Kumlin.
Bowling Green would tie the game up for the final time when freshman forward Noah Morneau scored on a backhand shot up close with Kempf in Morneau’s first game back in the lineup after missing time due to injury. Crampton and Emerson were credited with the assists on the play.
Neither team would score in overtime despite Notre Dame having multiple dangerous opportunities that were turned away by Moore.
After the dust had settled on regulation and overtime play, Notre Dame finished with the advantage in the shots battle, having recorded 33 to Bowling Green’s 31.
Kempf finished the game for the Fighting Irish, having made 28 saves while recording a .903 save percentage.
Moore made multiple key saves throughout the game and finished the contest having made 30 saves while making an additional three saves during the shootout, while recording a .909 save percentage.
“He is very solid,” said Higgins about Cole Moore’s performance. “You’re confident when guys are shooting on him, you know he’s gonna make big-time saves when he needs to.”
Other impressive performances from the Falcons include junior forward Ben Doran and Crampton, who led the team in shots during the game as each player recorded six apiece.
BGSU also had a very strong team performance defensively, as nine different players blocked at least one shot, with freshman forward Jérémie Minville leading the category with two.
The defensive effort was particularly important as the Falcons were skating without senior defenseman and team captain Dalton Norris, who was absent from the lineup for the second series in a row after suffering an injury during the second game of the Lake Superior State (9-17-1, 6-13-0) series. To make matters worse, the Falcons had to skate the second and third periods without junior defenseman and alternate captain Gustav Stjernberg after “Goose” was given a five-minute major and ejected from the game following a dangerous cross-check that sent a Notre Dame player headfirst into the boards.
“We took a couple of unnecessary, undisciplined penalties that are selfish penalties,” said head coach Dennis Williams after the game. “You can’t have it this time of year and certainly, like I told the guys, you’re gonna lose games, and that’s because of the lack of discipline.”
Williams and the Falcons will look to claim a win against their former conference foe tonight at a sold-out Slater Family Ice Arena with puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Daniel Ridenour will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM, your home of Falcon hockey.
